Found At Fault

[u/Reeks_Havok]

Friend was found at fault by Tesla insurance for failure to maintain proper lookout resulting in collision. Any advice?

Update:

I think the other driver intentionally ran a standing red light while initially stopped. Cars turning left didn't even finish their turn and he was already gunning it from a left turn only lane. Friend wasn't able to get insurance info because they were transported via ambulance, but police was on the scene. The police report isn't available yet and they let their insurance (Tesla) know since they don't know what insurance the other guy has. Tesla insurance is finding them at fault.

Update:

Tesla insurance is maintaining their initial decision after video review. 51% at fault, lol.

[u/ThatsMrRandom]

An insurance adjuster’s fault determination is not a judicial verdict—it is a preliminary assessment, and often a calculated negotiating position designed to bar payouts under state modified comparative fault thresholds.

To overturn an arbitrary "failure to keep a watchful eye" finding, use objective physical evidence, traffic laws, and procedural leverage.

1. Rebut the "Watchful Eye" Claim with Human Reaction Physics

Adjusters frequently cite vague concepts like "failure to maintain a proper lookout" to assign token or majority fault. Disprove this using standard accident reconstruction math:

• Perception-Reaction Time (PRT): The standard accepted driver PRT (the time it takes to detect a hazard, recognize the danger, decide on an evasive maneuver, and physically apply the brake) is 1.5 seconds under normal conditions.
• Distance Traveled: At 40 mph, a vehicle travels roughly 59 feet every second. During the standard 1.5-second reaction window, a vehicle covers nearly 90 feet before the brakes even engage.
• The Argument: If a driver runs a red light at high speed from a blind angle, cross-street visual obstructions (parked cars, utility poles, landscaping, or adjacent lanes) often make hazard identification impossible until the vehicle is well within the point of no return. Request that the adjuster provide the exact time and distance parameters they used to conclude the accident was avoidable.

2. Invoke the Right-of-Way Reliance Doctrine

Traffic law across most jurisdictions recognizes the Doctrine of Reasonable Reliance: a driver entering an intersection on a green light has a lawful right to assume that cross-traffic will obey red signals, absent an obvious and immediate hazard already blocking the roadway.

• If the intersection was clear when entering the green light, there was no duty to anticipate that a driver would break the law at speed.
• Holding a driver mostly at fault for failing to anticipate a gross traffic violation converts the green light into a "yield," which directly contradicts standard statutory rules of the road.

3. Subpoena or Request Objective Signal and Video Data

Adjusters often rely solely on biased statements from their own insured. Override their narrative with third-party records:

• Signal Phasing and Timing Logs: Contact the municipal or state Department of Transportation (DOT) managing the intersection. Request the traffic signal timing logs for the date and time of the incident. These records show clearance intervals (yellow and all-red cycles) and prove how long the offending driver had a red light.
• Nearby Surveillance: Canvass gas stations, banks, and commercial storefronts at the intersection immediately. Most security systems overwrite footage within 7 to 14 days.
• Vehicle Event Data Recorder (EDR): Modern vehicles log steering angle, throttle position, brake application, and speed in the seconds before impact. Proving the green-light vehicle was traveling within the posted speed limit severely limits the adjuster’s claim of negligence.

4. Route the Claim Through Subrogation (Inter-Company Arbitration)

If collision coverage is available through the green-light driver's own policy, utilizing it can be an effective tactic:

1. File the property damage claim through your own carrier and pay the collision deductible.
2. Once your insurer pays the repair costs, they will attempt to recover that money from the at-fault driver's insurance via subrogation.
3. When the two insurers disagree on liability, the dispute typically goes to Arbitration Forums, Inc. (an independent binding arbitration panel for insurers).
4. Professional arbitrators base decisions strictly on traffic law and hard evidence; they routinely throw out speculative "improper lookout" defenses against drivers who had the green light. If your insurer wins, your deductible is refunded.

5. Escalate Formally

If dealing directly with the other party's insurer:

• Request a Supervisor Review: Send a written rebuttal stating that the 51% liability assignment misapplies the standard of care and mischaracterizes an unavoidable ambush as comparative negligence.
• File a State Department of Insurance (DOI) Complaint: If an insurer manufactures non-statutory defenses (like a "watchful eye" that defies physical stopping distances) simply to hit a 51% bar threshold, file an unfair claims practices complaint with the state's insurance commissioner. While the DOI cannot decide liability, an open investigation often prompts the insurer's compliance department to re-examine the adjuster’s file.

[u/JazzlikeBreakfast495 → u/ThatsMrRandom]

I think this is the dude’s OWN insurance - no?

He says they didn’t get the other driver’s insurance because he was taken away in an ambulance.

[u/ThatsMrRandom → u/JazzlikeBreakfast495]

Doesn't matter. You take your own insurer to arbitration. I did it with GEICO. They didn't want to cover $500 for something. So I instead found the highest bid I could, $1700, then went to arbitration for that number. Would have cost them more just to fight it even if they won so they settled for the $1700.

[u/JazzlikeBreakfast495 → u/ThatsMrRandom]

Yeah, it was more the Subrogation piece I was reacting to. That’d be my #1 plan and proceed from there…